The present disclosure relates generally to apparatus and methods for attaching to and detaching a sanding disc from a hand sander.
It is conventional to attach removable sanding discs to rotary and orbital motion sanders. The sanding discs are typically coated on one side with a sandpaper-like texture. These discs are available from many venders. The abrasive disc is typically held on a sander pad that is mounted on the hand sander, such as with a hook-and-loop fastener system. The discs are designed to be used until the abrasive surface has degraded. The disc is then removed from the sander pad and discarded. A replacement disc can then be placed on the sander pad, and sanding can resume.
At least some known hand sanders are coupled to a vacuum system to remove dust and/or debris generated during a sanding operation. Typically, the sanding disc includes openings defined therein and the sander pad includes corresponding openings through which dust and/or debris are pulled by a vacuum created by the vacuum system.
For hobby users, the removal and replacement of the discs represents an inconvenience. However, in such a case, there is plenty of time to remove the spent disc, replace it with a new disc, and resume sanding. While it is time consuming to do so, the replacement of a few discs in this manner would not greatly increase the time to complete the project.
However, such a system is less advantageous when the hand sander is used in an industrial or assembly line operation where the disc is replaced many times in the course of an hour. The time to remove the disc from the sander pad and line up the vacuum holes in a new disc with the vacuum holes in the sander pad and attach the new disc to the sander pad may be excessive. Accordingly, in some instances, the user may be forced to remove the disc by peeling up an edge with a hand. The user would then reapply a sanding disc by hand by visually lining up the vacuum holes in the disc with the holes in the sander pad to the appropriate position. Such a system does not ensure consistent placement of the disc on the sander pad, which can create inconsistences in the sanding performance.
Accordingly, it is advantageous to create an apparatus and method for removing and applying a sanding disc to a sander pad that minimizes these detrimental results.